A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a board game which is based on a crossword puzzle. More particularly, this invention pertains to a game having a board and pieces which are placed on the board to complete a preselected crossword puzzle, said game being played by two or more players with scores being awarded as pieces are positioned on the board.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Crossword puzzles have fascinated people for centuries. A crossword puzzle typically consists of a square or rectangular grid defining a plurality of boxes. Some of the boxes are blank and the remaining boxes are filled in entries formed of with alphanumerical characters using clues provided for the entries in the horizontal and vertical directions.
Crosswords can have varying degrees of difficulty, related generally to the kind and specificity of clues being given, their subject matter, size, configuration, and so on. Because of their flexibility, crosswords are very challenging to a broad spectrum of people. As a result, crosswords are published on a daily basis in books, magazines, newspapers, and other media. A crossword puzzle may be solved or completed by more than one individual, for example, by taking turns and making different entries, each entry consisting of a plurality of alphanumeric characters, usually words. However, overwhelmingly, solving crossword puzzles is a solitary activity.
Games have been previously sold which had some elements of crossword puzzles. The best known of these types of word games was probably Scrabble. However, none of these games generate the fascination and require the creativity and the challenge posed by the original crossword puzzles. Furthermore, prior games do not take advantage of and cannot use standard crossword puzzles that have been previously published or are presently available.
In view of the above named disadvantages, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a board game which provides the same challenge and ingenuity as regular crosswords.
A further objective is to provide a game which allows several persons to compete while solving a standard crossword puzzle.
Yet a further objective is to provide a game which can be used to play crosswords of various sizes and shapes.
A further objective is to provide a game which, in addition to solving a crossword puzzle, also provides for awarding points for different moves thereby providing more challenge to the game.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention shall become apparent from the following description.
Briefly, a game constructed in accordance with the present invention includes a board on which a field of play is defined by a plurality of squares. Some of the squares are black to imitate the black boxes of a preselected crossword puzzle. The field of play is partitioned into four zones. In one embodiment, two diagonally opposed zones are assigned to each player.
A plurality of multi-faceted pieces are placed on the board. These pieces have surfaces with indicia (such as alphanumeric characters). Thus, the pieces can be placed on the board to make entries for the unsolved puzzle. A match is played by two players taking turns to make entries by filling in all or some of the letters of each word, in accordance with a set of rules. Points are awarded for at least some of the entries. The entries can be made to span at least two zones. A match ends when one of the players cannot move.
In an alternate embodiment, more than two players can play a match.